The present invention is related to computer file access and in particular to improving file access in a proprietary storage system.
The use and reliance of shared communication environments continue to increase. Along with that comes a diversity of information that must be shared among the users in a shared communication environment. An important aspect of sharing information is that users (whether human users or machine users) have access to the most recent information in order to effectively perform their individual or cooperative activities. A consideration to bear in mind is that the information can come from many different sources.
An increasingly popular communication paradigm is the peer-to-peer (P2P) network. A P2P network connects together users as “equals.” Any one user connected to the P2P network can request files from another user connected to the network. Thus, a user can behave as a client in one instance, making file access requests of another user. That same user, in another instance, can behave as a server servicing requests from other users.
Often, a user requires that the file be current. In a conventional P2P network system, a user typically has to access status information in an active manner to acquire current information for a file. This will demand more time and effort for the user, especially when the user needs to get information from large numbers of sources.
It is desirable therefore to provide a user with easy access to the latest information contained in a P2P network.